


It's Different than Friendship (Maybe it's Something Else)

by DaveHarley (NedandChuck)



Category: iZombie (TV)
Genre: (Peyton can be described with the first and last), Brothers Are Annoying, F/M, Major is a sweetheart, and Clive knows all, i wrote a lot of this at three am, prompt, relationship through the eyes of other characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-05-23
Packaged: 2018-03-31 21:44:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3993931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NedandChuck/pseuds/DaveHarley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People around Liv and Ravi - coworkers, family, roommates - have more insight to their relationship than they do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Different than Friendship (Maybe it's Something Else)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iravioli](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=iravioli).



> I'm p sure these children are too small to do any kissing tbh

  Clive enters the morgue on a late Thursday afternoon, rubbing his eyes to erase the sleep from them, and almost immediately crashes into Liv. His apology is cut short when he sees her. More specifically sees the giant sweater she wears, which is most definitely Ravi's and almost reaches her knees. He raises an eyebrow, first at her, than at the M.E. himself. At least he has the decency to look flustered. (Liv doesn't.)

  “I was...” Liv freezes, glances over her shoulder at Ravi, and turns back to squint at Clive. “Cold.”

  Across the room, Ravi snorts, but quickly covers it with a cough when the detective looks at him. He's not buying this for one moment.

  “Uh-huh,” Clive moves past her to stand across the vic from Ravi. “So, Psychic, get any visions recently?”

  “Well, nothing that seems like it's of use yet – although this girl had a really low tolerance for cold, I've got to tell you,” Liv looks up and shrugs, the motion barely visible, drown under thick wool, “We did do some _actual medical examining_ , though, if that would be helpful.”

  Though he paid close attention to Liv's explanation, he could see Ravi out of the corner of her eye biting back a smile every time she has to push sleeves out of the way of her hands, and the little glances they exchange every once in a while, like they're sharing a secret he can't know. Well, he  _knows._

  “Alright, Moore,” Clive claps his notebook shut when Liv ends her monologue about what they'd found with a little flourish. “Let's go to the park and interview around.”

  “I, uh,” Liv gestures to the sweater. “I'll be right there, okay?”

  “M-hm,” he nods, and when he heads out he can hear the blonde smacking her boss in the arm as he bursts into the laughter he'd obviously been holding in.

  “Sorry, but you have to see the irony in that,” Ravi chuckles, “You're  _cold._ ”

  “Well what was I supposed to say? Oh, yeah, I just have the shivers when I'm not wearing ten layers for now, it's a side effect of being a zombie and eating the brain of a girl who obviously  couldn't regulate her own body temperature .” The sound of tiny fists pounding a laughing man reaches Clive as he continues down the hall. “Do you want him to find out?”

  Sure, a  _zombie._

 

 

  “Sis, I need you to- woah.”

  Evan steps back toward the door. He can see his sister stiffen and watches her tilt her head down to stare at him in disbelief. “This isn't what it looks like, at all.”

  “Oh, I'm sure it isn't,” he smirks, “I can come back later, if you want.”

  What it looks like is his older sister sitting on a table in the middle of the room, a guy between her legs – her  _boss_ if he remembers correctly – leaning over her neck. He knows what they're doing, he isn't a child. Liv pushes the guy away and hops off the table, pulling her turtleneck over her throat. Now that he thinks about it, Peyton had mentioned that she was wearing things to cover up a lot more recently.

  “Evan, I swear, you have the wrong idea,” she holds up her hands and starts toward him.

  “Don't you like, dissect people on those things, Olive? That's gross.”

  “Evan!” Liv hisses.

  “You guys were doing it on dead people tables!” he points out, because she has no right to act like he is the one in the wrong. Oh God, he would be able to hold this over her head  _forever._

  “You thought we were-” Liv's boss gapes behind her at the same time she drags out the words, “Ew, no!”

  The guy makes an offended noise, “Ew?”

  “Not now, Ravi,” she waves him off, and groans. “E, come on, we so were not.”

  “Oh yeah? You've been covering up your neck an awful lot lately, and being super sneaky whenever someone asked if you about it, what's that about?”

  Liv glances back at Ravi, then sighs and pulls down her collar, revealing a puckered scar. Evan reels back, then approaches her with worried eyes.

  “You got shot? And you never told anyone?” he was really trying not to panic. His older sister gently leads him to a chair, and he's reminded of a time when they were little and he sprained his ankle.

  “I'm alright,” she assures him in the same soft voice she'd used back then, brushing a thumb over his cheek softly. “It just grazed me, and Ravi's been treating it. I didn't want to scare you or mom, but I'm perfectly fine, okay?”

  Evan stares hard into her eyes to detect a lie, but nods slowly when he doesn't.

  “We'll make you some tea, alright?” she kisses his forehead.

  “I'm already on that!” Ravi calls from the kitchen right behind him. Evan turns in his seat to watch his sister approach the man with her hands on her hips as she watches him pour water from the sink into a kettle.

  “Ravi, just stick a mug in the microwave,” she sighs, as if it's for the thousandth time.

  The Englishman gasps, stumbling back and putting the hand not setting the kettle down on the stovetop to his chest. “Olivia Moore, have you been wasting my teabags on  _American style_ tea?”

  Liv groans and throws her head back. “Get over it,” she jabs him in the chest with a finger. “It exploded one time. Anyways, we need to get it ready quickly for my poor baby brother.”

  “Or,” Ravi crosses his arms stubbornly, “We need to get it ready  _efficiently_ for optimum comfortingness.”

  “Do you even hear yourself?”

  At the sound of Evan's laugh, they both look up and blink in surprise. Ravi practically jumps three feet off the ground when the kettle whistles, and he pours it into a mug, sticking his tongue out at Liv. She carries the mug to her brother, bobbing the teabag up and down until she sets it down. Liv puts a saucer on top of the cup to trap the steam while it steeps.

  “So, what did you need?” she asks when Evan deems his tea properly flavoured. He looks up, confused. “When you came in here, you said you need me to do something for you.”

  “Oh,” he thinks for a second, sipping his drink. “Yeah! So Mom doesn't approve of this guy who asked me out the other day, even though he's perfectly cool, and a lot better than Rich,”

  Liv groans and lets her head thump to the counter, “Really, if that's your standard for judging guys, you really just need to change it. Anyways, I told you guys I was going through a rebellious phase.”

  “Who's Rich?” Ravi perks up from across the room, where he's gone back to doing his job.

  “I'll tell you sometime later,” Liv rests her chin in her hand.

  “So, never,” he clarifies, and at her nod, he says, “Right, okay.”

  “I can't believe you actually dated him, he literally called himself Dick.”

  “It's a nickname for Richard! You know what, get back to your story, how do I figure into this?”

  “Right, of course. Mom respects your decisions, so could you just tell her to let me go out on one date with him? Or to seriously chill.”

  “Yeah, I'll talk to her tonight, but I wanna meet the kid, alright?” At her brother's uninterested groan, she smirks, “What? I need to tell him I'll kick his ass if he breaks your heart.”

  Evan downs the last of his tea like it's a shot, and Liv laughs.

  “Now, shoo, you have schoolwork!” Liv swats at him until he hops off the chair and heads towards the door.

  At the top of the steps, he turns around, “Hey, Ravi!” the M.E. looks up at him. “If you break my sister's heart, I know of at least five people who'll kick your ass. And she's at the front of the line.”

  Ravi just nods solemnly, and Evan scampers away from his older sister shakes her fist and shouts empty threats. Behind him, he hears Ravi exclaim, “Liv, your stitches! Sit down, I need to finish them!” and he's pretty comforted. Although she has a dangerous job, at least she has someone like Ravi to fix her up when she was hurt.

 

  Peyton hears the door open and heads into the living room, carefully inspecting a tupperware of her roommate's “secret ingredient” noodles. “Hey, O, is it okay if-” she is cut off by a gentle shushing, and when she looks up, Ravi stands in the doorway, Liv draped in his arms, completely asleep. He looks helpless and confused.

  “She fell asleep in the break room, and since our alarm system is broken and you guys live pretty close, I figured that I would, but I'm not sure-” he squints at the container in Peyton's hand. “What's that?”

  The lawyer shakes away her confusion and looks at the noodles. “Liv's super special ramen stuff. I was gonna eat it.”

  “No, don't!” he cries out, clapping a hand over his mouth and glancing down to make sure he hadn't woken Liv up.

  “Why not?” Peyton frowns, setting the noodles down on the counter separating the kitchen and living room. She takes Liv from Ravi and helps her now half-awake friend stumble into her room.

  “Er,” she hears Ravi call from the entry. “It's just that she makes them really spicy. I can't even eat them. I don't think you should, is all, since she's quite adamant that no one touches them.”

  Peyton tucks a very clingy Liv under the covers and clicks off the lamp. Ravi's words were much too rushed to even begin to think he wasn't hiding something, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what on earth it could be.

  When she wanders back into the room where he's still standing stiffly by the door, the noodles are gone. She peers at him, but he just gives her a soft smile.

  “I'm sorry to trouble you, she had a very long day today,” Ravi looks sadly in the direction Peyton took Liv, and she realizes he phrased it as though he were responsible for her. “Tell her if she needs a couple days, I'll understand, and she has them.”

  “What happened?” she furrows her brow, worried. Ravi freezes.

  “Ah, the victim was a fairly gruesome person, and she got very, um, into the case.”

  Peyton tosses a worried look towards where Liv could be heard snoring. “I'll tell her. Will she be alright through the night? Should I be prepared for nightmares?”

  “No, I don't think so, I gave her someone- I mean, something. She took something. The feeling will wear off, but the memories might, um, stick.”

  She wondered if he even remembered that her job practically revolved around being able to tell when someone was nervous.

  “Well, if you're all set here, I have some things to finish up at the morgue,” he winces slightly at the word, as if it's inappropriate (and maybe it would usually be considered so). “Give her my love when she wakes up.”

  He ducks his head in a little bow and closes the door quietly behind him when he exits.

  Peyton chuckles and heads into the kitchen. Where did those noodles go?

 

  Major inhales deeply as he wanders out of his bedroom. “Wow, Rav, are you finally making something other than your weird British foods? That smells great!”

  “Not Ravi!” A very familiar, distinctly female voice calls back to him.

  He blinks. Major doesn't remember having any girls over last night, and Ravi had stayed in. He peeks around the corner into the room where the voice came from. Liv stands there, a whisk in her hand and a sheepish grin on her face. “Morning.”

  “Hey,” he frowns, “Why are you here?”

  “Nice to see you, too,” Liv says dryly, and Major shakes his head, “I know what you mean. I stayed over last night.”

  “Stayed over?”

  “M-hm,” she scoops pancake batter into a pan, then turns back toward him. Off his wide-eyed look, she rolls her eyes. “Not like that. I came over to discuss... case stuff with Ravi, and when it got late, he offered to let me stay in his room. He's still asleep on the couch.”

  “That sounds like him,” Major relaxes a little. He wouldn't have minded if Liv  _had_ stayed over 'like that', but it would have made for a pretty awkward morning.

  He steps into the living room to wake up his housemate, leaving Liv to hum and dance around the kitchen she is still familiar with. Major shakes Ravi awake, and the man's eyes dart open and he shouts something along the lines of, “Die, wizard!”

  Liv's laughter rings from the kitchen, and Ravi turns toward the room's direction. “Liv's here?”

  “Yeah, you don't remember last night?” Major raises an eyebrow, and his friend's eyes get wide for a second before the memory obviously comes back. He yawns and nods.

  “She was noddin' off,” he confides, “Did you know her nose does this little wiggly thing when she's sleepy?”

  “I did,” Major grins as he watches the last bits of sleep wear off.

  “Is she making pancakes?” Ravi stands and wanders towards the smell, Major tagging close behind.

  “I did,” Liv presents two plates of breakfast to both men.

  “What about you?” Major frowns, looking around for her plate. Ravi looks up from the food he'd already begun eating.

  “I'm not hungry. I hope you don't mind, I stole a couple doughnuts.”

  He shrugs and waves his arm to tell her to help herself (though she already has) and joins his roommate in the dining room, where he wandered not seconds ago.

  Liv follows after, sitting in the middle of the couch in the adjoined living room and snuggling under the still-warm blanket Ravi had been using. She turns on the television and starts up the paused game like she owns the place. Neither of the men seem to mind one bit. Major watches his roommate and ex as the former guides her through the level she's on, ignoring her shushing in favor of shouting, “No your cross bow, use the cross bow!” He doesn't know the last time he'd seen Liv get along with someone so well, before her huge change or after.

  (And they did get along very well, no matter how many times she claimed to hate him as he misled her into various traps, claiming to have forgotten the map of the game he'd played too many times for Major to count.)

 

  Clive is wandering innocently down the halls toward the morgue when he hears the excited shouting. The word 'cure' reaches his ears as he races to see what's the matter, one hand on his holster. What he sees when he slides to a stop at the top of the steps makes him lose his balance.

  Ravi stands above Liv, who sits on an autopsy table, pulling him down by the lapels of his lab coat so his mouth meets hers. Clive covers his eyes, feeling slightly like a child watching a kissing scene in a movie. “You guys,” he groans, and when he peeks through his fingers to see if they're done, the two are scrambling away from one another.

  “Honestly, do you have to do that around all the frozen corpses?”

  “We were-”

  “I mean-”

  “Uh-”

  “Yeah, listen, I've known about your 'secret' for a while now.” Ravi freezes, Liv gapes.

  “You have?” she asks, slowly.

  “Just because I've never walked in on you doing that,” he motions towards them, and Ravi flushes, “Doesn't mean I didn't know that you guys, you know,  _were_ doing it.”

  “But we've never...” Ravi splutters, “That was the first time we'd ever, um...”

  Clive rolls his eyes. “Right, because you haven't been giving each other Looks since forever.” As soon as he says it, they exchange one.

  “Have we?” Liv asks earnestly, furrowing her brow and biting her lip. If he didn't know any better, Clive would think they really hadn't noticed. But he does know better, so he doesn't.

  “You have,” he flicks the files on their most recent case (Geoffry Daniel, 29, strangulation) on the table next to Liv and nods towards the exit. “So, let's keep it professional when we get to the scene, I'm going to go to my car and try to forget I ever saw anything. Ow! Liv!”

  She rubs her fist and scowls at him, and he returns the look, rubbing the arm that got pummeled. “I said  _professional.”_

 

**Author's Note:**

> * British food isn't weird where did that myth even come from
> 
> Not sure how well this turned out, but I like it well enough uvu
> 
> Give me more RaviOli prompts @ piemakingdeadwaking.tumblr.com/ask !! (please)


End file.
